The best Hamburg City Passes in comparison
The Hamburg City Pass or Hamburg Card is a convenient and inexpensive way to explore Hamburg. Both cards combine free use of public transport with discounts or free admission to the most important sights.
Our recommendation: The Hamburg City Pass from Turbopass includes a city tour with the hop-on hop-off buses and a harbor tour.
There are three common City Passes for Hamburg tourists:
All-inclusive sightseeing package with free admission to over 30 attractions and tours in Hamburg. Includes the Michel with observation tower, various museums (e.g. International Maritime Museum, museum ship Rickmer Rickmers), the Panoptikum wax museum, black light mini-golf, a harbor tour, Alster tour and guided city walks.
A ticket for the hop-on hop-off bus is already included. Available for 1 to 7 consecutive days, whereby each attraction can be visited once.
An optional HVV ticket for the Hamburg AB public transport area (incl. airport) can also be booked, which offers free travel on all HVV lines (bus, underground/underground, harbor ferries).
Book a TurbopassThe official city ticket of Hamburg combines an HVV ticket for the public transport area Hamburg AB (incl. airport) with discounts of up to 50% on over 150 attractions, including harbor and Alster tours, city tours, museum visits, musicals as well as restaurants and stores.
Available for 1 to 5 consecutive days either as a one-way ticket (for 1 adult + up to 3 children aged 6-14) or as a group ticket (for up to 5 people of any age). Validity ends at 6 a.m. on the day following the last day of use.
Buy Hamburg CARDPopular package offer for two Hamburg highlights: A hop-on hop-off city tour on a double-decker bus with free boarding and alighting at many stops, plus an approx. one-hour Grand Harbor Cruise on the Elbe with a barge or passenger ship.
Ideal for short vacationers who are primarily looking for an overview tour and a harbor experience. The tickets can often be used flexibly (the harbor tour is often valid on the same day or the days following the bus tour).
Book a combined ticket
In the following table you will find our selection of the most important city passes for Hamburg and a comparison of the services included.
 |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Validity | 1 - 7 days | 1 - 5 days | 1 days |
| Number of Attractions | 20+ | 150+ | 2 |
| Price from | 33.53 EUR | 11.90 EUR | 39.00 EUR |
| Book now | Book now | Book now | |
| Top Attractions | |||
| Hafenrundfahrt | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Michel Hamburg | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Panoptikum | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Hamburger Kunsthalle | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Mobility | |||
| Hop-on hop-off bus | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Public transportation | + | ✓ | ✗ |
Basically, all Hamburg passes work very similarly. We have summarized the differences and similarities in this section.
First consider which pass suits your stay (Hamburg CARD, City Pass or a combination ticket). You can buy the passes conveniently here on this page or locally at ticket machines and tourist information offices.
After purchase, you will receive a ticket or voucher. If you buy online, this is usually a digital ticket (QR code) that arrives by email or can be called up in an app. Alternatively, you can also get the Hamburg Card as a paper ticket at a ticket counter or ticket machine.
Depending on the pass, the period of validity begins either with a fixed date/time or with the first use. With the Hamburg Card, you specify the first day of validity when purchasing. With the Hamburg City Pass, the starting day is specified when booking and is then activated automatically with the first use.
If your pass includes the HVV (Hamburg CARD or City Pass with local transport), you can use all public transport free of charge. Simply show your ticket at an inspection - it is valid as a ticket. Even the HADAG port ferries are included.
Hamburg CARD: Show your card before paying and get discounts at the cash desk. Hamburg City Pass: This is often valid directly as an admission ticket. The QR code is scanned at attractions and you can enter without paying. You can use each attraction included in the pass once free of charge.
The Hamburg CARD is the city's official tourist ticket, which includes all public transport and offers discounts of up to 50% on many attractions. It is relatively inexpensive and ideal if you move around the city a lot and want to visit a few selected highlights at a discount.
The Hamburg City Pass, on the other hand, is a complete package from an external provider that offers free entry to attractions and tours. On request, it also includes local transport and some exclusive services (e.g. harbor tour, hop-on hop-off already included). However, it costs significantly more than the Hamburg CARD.
Simply put: with the Hamburg CARD you pay less for the package, but at a reduced price for each attraction; with the City Pass you pay more once, but can then use many things for free on site. Which option is better depends on how many attractions you want to visit and whether you prefer to have everything covered in advance (City Pass) or decide flexibly with discounts on site (Hamburg CARD).
The validity depends on the period booked:
Hamburg CARD: Available for 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 days; valid until 6 a.m. the next day after the end of the last day.
Hamburg City Pass: Available for 1 to 7 consecutive calendar days. Important: The days must be used consecutively - a break or interruption is not possible. If you use the City Pass some time after purchase, please note that it must be activated within 12 months of purchase.
Combination tickets (bus/port): These are usually day-based (bus ticket valid on the day of use, boat ticket valid on the same or following day).
Hamburg CARD: Children under the age of 6 travel free on the HVV and do not need their own pass for discounts. Older children aged 6-14 can travel for free on an adult's Hamburg Card (up to 3 children per adult) - they then receive the same discounts at attractions as the cardholder. The group card (up to 5 people) is recommended for larger families or young people aged 15 and over.
Hamburg City Pass: There are discounted passes for children. As a rule, a children's category applies from around 3 to 14 years of age (free admission is usually granted for children under 3 years of age anyway). Children need their own City Pass (at the children's price), as only one person is admitted with each pass. However, the City Pass is often only worthwhile for children if they visit enough attractions, as many museums offer free or reduced admission for young children anyway.
Combi-tickets: Accompanying children often have reduced prices (in the example ~22 € instead of 41 €) or free admission under a certain age. If necessary, ask the provider about age limits (e.g. children up to the age of 5 often pay free, from the age of 6 reduced admission).
Both the Hamburg CARD and the Hamburg City Pass can be used digitally:
Exception: If you use the City Pass with HVV option, the providers recommend printing out the pass for use on local public transport. The reason for this is that it can be easier to show a printout at a ticket inspection (the QR code on the cell phone is also valid, but a paper printout can avoid misunderstandings). In principle, however, the cell phone is also sufficient here as long as the code is clearly recognizable.
Physical tickets are only available if purchased on site (Hamburg Card at the ticket counter/vending machine, combined tickets from the bus driver, etc.). As a tourist, the digital version is usually the most convenient - just make sure that your cell phone has enough battery and that the ticket is available offline.
Hamburg CARD: This is very easy to obtain locally - at over 20 points of sale in the city, all HVV ticket machines, at the airport, train station, tourist information offices etc.. You can also buy it spontaneously when you arrive in Hamburg. Alternatively, you can do it in advance online on the official website or via smartphone app, which saves waiting time.
Hamburg City Pass: You should buy this online in advance as it is sold by the provider (Turbopass & partners such as GetYourGuide etc.). However, it is possible to book at short notice - you can even buy it online on the day of use and use it digitally straight away.
Combined tickets for bus and port are available on site (e.g. at the starting point of the city tour or the Landungsbrücken) and online at various ticket portals. In summer or at weekends, it makes sense to book in advance to be sure of a seat, but you can usually get tickets spontaneously.
Whether a Citypass is worthwhile depends on your program.
Example calculation Hamburg CARD: It usually pays off if you use two or three discounts. For example, if you take a harbor tour and a city tour with a 30% and 20% discount respectively in one day with the Hamburg Card and also use the subway and S-Bahn all day, you will have saved significantly more than the card cost - in addition to saving time when buying tickets.
Hamburg City Pass: This is worthwhile if you want to visit several of the more expensive attractions. For example, if you plan to visit the Michel (viewing platform ~6 €), the Kunsthalle (~14 €), a large harbor tour (~20 €) and the hop-on hop-off tour (~20 €), the individual prices add up to ~60 €. A 1-day City Pass costs around this amount and covers all of this - if you continue to use the included offers, you will make a profit. For longer validity (2- or 3-day pass), you should plan enough activities accordingly.
For families: The Hamburg Card is very inexpensive (one adult with up to 3 children for ~€12 per day) and is almost always worth it for mobility in the city alone. The City Pass for each family member is a higher investment - here you should weigh up which paid attractions your children actually want to visit. It is often worth taking a City Pass for the adults and using individual tickets (or free entry) for younger children, depending on their interests.
Overall: Make a list of the sights you want to see and compare the sum of the individual prices with the pass price. It often turns out that the Citypass is not only the better choice financially, but also in terms of convenience (one ticket for everything).
Most attractions can only be visited once per City Pass - with the Hamburg City Pass in particular, free admission is limited to one visit per attraction. The Hamburg Card theoretically gives you another discount on a second visit, but many experiences such as a harbor tour or city tour are unique enough anyway.
Public transport can be used indefinitely, but only within the validity period of the pass. If your Hamburg Card is valid for 3 days, you can travel by bus and train until the end of the third day (or 6 a.m. the following morning) - beyond that you will need a new ticket. The same applies to the HVV option in the City Pass.
Combi-tickets are an exception: here, the bus tickets are usually only valid on the day purchased; the harbor tour can often still be taken the next day (but not more than once).